Retail vehicle washing services and the fabrication and sale of apparatus for performing vehicle washing and drying services have both become multimillion dollar businesses in the United States. Automatic and semi-automatic car washers essentially are of two types: the first is the so-called "tunnel washer" wherein a vehicle is rolled through a longitudinally spaced series of machines which wet, wash and rinse the vehicle and thereafter remove rinse water by high velocity air, vehicle contacting drying materials and/or a combination of the two; the second class of apparatus is termed a "rollover washer" and typically involves a gantry frame supported on rails for translating back and forth over a parked vehicle, again to perform wetting, washing and rinsing operations. There is, in fact, a third type which is a hybrid of the two mentioned types called a "drive through" washer. This may, for example, be a rollover washer with stop and go signals to direct the driver how and when to position his vehicle relative to the washer and when to drive throught the washer.
Whatever the type of washer, an important factor in the customer's perception of the quality of the washing service is the degree to which the vehicle is dried after the washing and rinsing operations. Air blowers, to perform effectively, require a properly directed high velocity air stream. Moreover, because air velocity tends to dissipate rapidly after the air leaves the blower outlet, it is highly desirable to place the outlet as close to the vehicle surfaces as possible, and to aim the airstream to most effectively remove water from the vehicle.